Machine for making metal tubes.



H. HIGGIN. MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL TUBES.

APPLIOATION FILED-AUG. 5, 1910.

1,019,043, P at ented Mar. 5,'l9l2.

? SHBETSSHEET 1.

M H. HIGGIN.

MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1910.

43 Patented Mar. 5, 1912',

" of which the following HENRY HIGGIN, 01E NEWPORT, KENTUCKY.

if MACHINE FOR MAKING- METAL TUBES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application aiea August 5, 1910. Serial No. 575,827.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY HIoorN, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Newport, in the county of Campbell and State of Kentucky, have 1nvented certain new' and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Metal Tubes,

exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an attachment or additional device for tube making machines in order to prepare the tube for brazing, and my invention consists' of that novel construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter particularly pointed out and claimed, in which mechanism is provided for cutting a Ion it-udinal groove at the meeting edges of 't e tube after it is formed, which groove is adapted to receive a specially designed strip of spelter solder which is fed continuously between the meeting edges of the tube as the tube is fed from the forming devices, and by which mechanism the tube is fully prepared for' the brazing machine with the proper amount of solder held in place between the meeting edges of the tube so thatwhen submitted to the brazing furnace, the seam can be perfectly and securely brazed without waste of solder and with a uniform amount of solder distributed throughout the length of the seam.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan -view of the delivery end of a tube forming machine with my additional mechanism added. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken onthe lines 3, v3, of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 1s a transverse section-taken on the lines 4, 4, of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionotthe tubing and opening'device taken on the lines 5, 5, of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the construction shown-in F1g. .5. Fig.. 7 is a crosssec'tion of the tubing w th the spelter in place. Fig. 8 is a'perspective view of a portion of the spelter. a perspective view of one end of the guldmg trough for the spelter.

l is the framework of the tube forming machine provided with a horizontal extension framework 2 for holding the additional devices. I v

3 is the mandrel upon which the tubing 4 is a full, clear, and

Fig. 9 is,

"the rear of the I the cli plates 25, 25, to the frame 2. The

is formed in the machine, and this tubing, atthe delivery end, passes through a hollow cylindrical arbor 5 at the end of the main framework. The tube passes from the tube forming devices over a. grooved roller 6, suitably journaled and supported in the end of the frame, and restin upon the tube immediately above this rofi felt or other suit-able material 7, secured in the frame. I

.8 is a suitable vessel for containing turpentine or other cleansing liquid whichis fed down through the tube 9 upon the felt to keep the same saturated to thoroughly cleanse the upper portion of the tube around the meeting edges which are to be subseer is a packing of quently brazed. Immediately beyond this cleansing pad is a depending plate 10 secured by bolt 11 to the extension frame 2, and this plate 10 carries journaled in its lower end a disk 12, the edge of which comes" in between the sid-e edges of the tube to slightly open the tube. Immediately beyond this openingdisk 'islocated the cutting wheel 13'mounted on the shaft 14, rotated in any suitable-"way, and this cutting wheel is so located asto cut the bevel off the edges of the tube in a somewhat V-shape.

The tube is now ready for the reception of thespelter. This spelter is a hard solder of proper composition for brazing, and the spelter is formed in a. continuous'str'ip- 15 mounted on a reel 16, which is journaled horizontally inan arm 17, projecting from ormed the main framework. The spelter is somewhat of a truncated triangular shape in cross section, with a' comparatively broad base 18 and'a narrow base 19 with sidesslightly,curvedlengthwise, as shown at 20 and 21' in Fig.8. The spelter is fed and guided in the U-shapedtrough 22 which passes. throfugl1 the bottom of a vessel 23. This vessel 23 is filled with any suitable flux, and the trough passes through the bot-tom of the vessel s0 that'the spelter wire which is guided in the trough 22 receives in its passage sufiicient flux for the brazing.

The outer end of the trough delivers the continuous strip of spelter immediately to plate 24 which is bolted by depen ing end of this plate 24 is provided with .a transverse groove 26 on'each side to reduce the thickness of the plate as shown at 27 in Fig. 5, and the edges of the tube 4 are spread apart by this portion 27 of the plate.

To the bottom of the plate 2-1 is secured a spring strip 28 which carries on its outerend a block 29 which operates in, conjunction with the grooved roller 30, one inside and the other outside of the tube, to hold the spelter securely in place between the edges of the tube as indicated-in 7 A grooved roller 31 mounted in the frame supports the tube as it is fed from the machine. The tube is now ready for the brazing furnace, and the exact amount of solder needed for the brazing has been distributed iunifonnly between the meeting edges of the 15" .to the reel 16 and fed continuously between the meeting edges of. the tube, the tube being held open by the portion 27 of the plate 24. To properly center and adjust the spelter in place, the supporting block 29 and the pressure roller 30 are-provided. The movement of the tube as it passes from the tube forming machine is the means employed for feed ing the spelter wire. It will be evidenttha-t when the wire has been inserted between the meeting edges of the tube as described, the forward movement of the tube forming machine will draw the wire with it, so that no additional means for feeding the spelter is required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is:

1. In a machine for making metal tubes,

the combination with means for continuously delivering the tubes bent into cylindrical shape and having their edges abutting, of means for continuously beveling said abut-- ting'edges, with means for spreading said abutting-edges, and-means for delivering a continuous strip of spelter-wire between said abutting edges.

2. .In a machine for making metal tubes, means for delivering a continuous strip of spelter wire between the abutting edges of the tube, and means for cuttin a V-shaped grooveat the meeting-edges o the tube to hold the spelter in place with means for spreading saidabutting edges and holding the same apart both in front and to the rear of the cutting means. a

3. In a machine for making tubes, a reel adapted to hold a roll of spelter wire, a guiding channel extending from the reel to apoint in line with the tube as delivered from the forming rolls, and a spreader for temporarily opening the abutting edges to receive the spelter.

4. In a machine for making tubes, a reel adapted to' hold a roll of spelter wire, a guiding channel extending from the reel to a point in line with the tube as delivered from the forming r0lls,-and a spreader for temporarily opening the abutting edges toreceive the spelter, and a grooved roller and block to center the spelter between the edges.

I 5. In a machine for making tubes, a reel adapted to hold a roll of spelter wire, a guiding channel extending from the 'reel to a point in line with the tube as delivered from the forming rolls, a receptacle for' flux through which the guiding channel passes,

and a spreaderjor temporarily opening the abutting edges to receive the spelter.

6. In a machine for making tubes, a reel adaptedto hold a roll of spelter wire, a

1 guiding channel extending from the reel to a point in line with the tube as delivered from the 'forming rolls, a receptacle for flux throu 'h which the guiding channel passes,'a cleanslng padpressing upon theseamed portion ofthe tube, a spreader to open the tube and a cutter to bevel ofl the abutting edges with a spreader to hold the edges apartheyond the cutter, and a grooved roller and;

block to center the spelter in position.

, HENRY HIGGIN.

At-test FRANK H. KUNKIJL, K. SMITH. 

